In response to @AlbanyYEM and @tek9rifleskills:

Excellent thoughts and two points I think are worth belaboring are the tour schedule and the jamming style.

The topic of tour schedule has been on my mind since we were debating the merits of the New Year's Run this past year, which came after a long hiatus. The hiatus was theorized by myself and (I think) by @AlbanyYEM at the time to be a negative, not a positive. I agree that the band fails to get nice and dirty and greasy on the road these days; not allowing themselves (according to the theory we are suggesting) the ability to get into the "flow", as it were and let the "music play the band". I tend to agree, though not being in on the inner workings of the organization, it's hard to tell really.

I will say, however, that while 2012 may have been more consistent overall (a debatable statement), 2013 had a longer sustained peak of stellar shows. Also, I think that 2012 lacked the same level of excellence in its early tour highlights as did 2013. I also give a nod to the band, in the form of an asterisk, given the horrendous weather conditions they and their audience had to endure during the early tour this year. To enhance my point, last year there was BGA3 and the 3 night Dick's run as end-of-tour highlights. This year, you essentially had six, perhaps seven (if you wish to include Tahoe1) shows of extremely high quality, certainly in the same league as 2012 Dick's, if not in some cases (Gorge1+2, Tahoe2, BGA3) exceeding them, at least by my ears.

I also thought, on the technical side of things, that the light show was better, the sound mix was better (the downloads sound excellent this year, as opposed to quite muddy last year) and I actually have come to prefer Trey's sound and tone this year over last years'. This wasn't the case for me earlier in the year but it is now.

I thought Page McConnell took major strides forward this year, which I think is significant. At this point in time, when I listen to recordings from 95-99, and then from today, the biggest things that stand out to me, besides Trey's tone and playing style is Page's involvement. He doesn't just fill and accent, he leads and directs quite often. His playing much more front and center, if I can say that with credibility.

Still, though, the fact remains that they are not playing enough shows to really oil the engines on a consistent basis. I think the band is trying REALLY HARD to give us what we want, but sometimes I feel (such as this past weekend) that they are baking a pie which has a 2-mile high crust but the filling is not keeping up with the volume of the pie pan. In other words, they are reaching beyond what their tour schedule is letting them achieve consistently. The amazing thing (to me) is that they can actually get there anyway. The Tahoe Tweezer might be the most incredible "moment" in rock&roll history by any band of any era. The potential of this band to do this nightly is what keeps us on the edge of our proverbial seats, and also what frustrates us when they roll out a rote performance.

Regarding the jamming style, you've both touched on it with some interesting thoughts. I would only add that while I agree that no-one has decided what to call it, it is definitely different than in past years. There is a near-violent intensity to the jamming in many cases that is simply stunning and breathtaking. I think of the Piper from Northerly Island, the Crosseyed from PNC (and even the Gorge), the Jones Beach R&R and Bowie, the Alpharetta Chalk Dust, and there are of course others. I started hearing this out of Trey during the TAB spring run. His playing was becoming focused in a frantic sort of pent-up way. I think he was even quoted earlier this year that he felt "pent-up". It's interesting, because the finest moments of this tour felt different to me than the finest moments of other tours. When they hit "IT" (as @Icculus puts it) this year, it was more often than not a rip-your-shirt-off jailbreak. It was not like the jams of '97 at all. No meandering funkafied patient jamming, but a veritable eruption of energy and notes, brilliantly orchestrated, leaving you sweaty and dizzy and wondering what just happened. That happened often this year.

I don't know where it's going any more than anyone else, but I would say if it were possible to combine Miles Davis with Iron Maiden, well it might sound a little like Phish in 2013.

Anyway, I too will apologize for going on so long but you guys really hit on some interesting ground there.